This is the story of Buddy, a shelter dog who was deemed "aggressive and vicious" and "unadoptable" by the powers-that-be at the Devore Animal Shelter, and the battle that ensued to save his life. Just because a vet deems a dog "aggressive and vicious" doesn't mean he's "unadoptable". It just means he's unbalanced and needs someone to get him re-balanced. This is our story of doing just that with Buddy. Enjoy!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2009

Today, Claudia and I were going to meet with Jenifer to do a 3-hour consultation at Claudia’s house. I arrived at Claudia’s at 3:45, and as I pulled up, my cell phone rang. I answered it and it was Jenifer. She told me she had been busy all day “breaking Noah from jumping the fence”. She said he started jumping the fence the day before, so she had stayed home all day and worked with him, trying to break him of it. I asked her if this meant she wasn’t coming out to meet with us, and she replied, “Yeah, I want you and Claudia to come here instead.”

I met Claudia at her front door and told her that Jenifer had called and said she wanted us to go to her house instead.. Her response was, “Here, I cleaned all day because I was expecting her.” I said, “Yeah, I know. I would have done the same thing.” I explained to her what Jenifer had said about Noah jumping the fence and that she had stayed home all day, trying to break him of it. We were both concerned that he was now jumping fences as this posed a serious problem. We then got ready and headed to Jenifer’s house.

We got to Jenifer’s and she walked us to the back patio. Noah was in his kennel, and we, of course, didn’t pay him any attention right away (as Jenifer had previously instructed us not to). She explained that she had been hiding in different places in the yard during the day and waiting for Noah to jump the fence. Each time he tried to jump, she would stand up and avert his attention to make him stop. She did say that this is a serious problem as once a dog starts jumping fences, it’s hard to make them stop, especially a dog with Noah’s background. I asked her if he could actually be stopped from jumping for sure, and she said maybe, maybe not. It was hard to say.

Jenifer then took us in the house and showed us some video footage of her working with Noah. She brought up a clip on her computer and it showed her actually putting a choke chain on Noah. During her first two attempts, when she tried to put the choke chain over Noah’s head, he immediately turned his head away so she couldn’t, but by the third attempt, she was able to just slide the chain over his head. The footage then showed her leading him out of his kennel. However, it was obvious that Noah had never been on a leash before as he simply walked a step or two and stood there, looking around like he didn't know what to do. Jenifer had to coax and encourage him to move forward. Noah would take a few steps and then stop. He then would just stand in one spot and look around. Each time, Jenifer gently coaxed him forward and she gradually got him out to her grassy training area. I was so encouraged by the footage I was seeing as he had come so far in a short amount of time. It literally brought tears to my eyes to see his progress. It also reinforced that fact that this dog wasn’t “vicious and aggressive” as the Shelter vet had determined him to be.

After we watched the footage, Jenifer asked us if we wanted to work with Noah and take him out to the training area. We said, “Of course.” We went out to the back patio and Jenifer put the leash on Noah and slowly lead him out to the training area. She still had to coax him somewhat but he was definitely getting the “gist” of it. She got him out to the training area and both Claudia and I took turns walking him around. It took continuous coaxing to get him to walk, but you could see he was improving steadily. In addition, we actually got tail wags and kisses from him, which was shocking as that was a first! He was definitely coming out of his shell, and it was a joy to see. He was like a different dog, and it was hard to believe he was the same dog we had seen at the Shelter. In fact, he was turning into quite a beauty as he has this jet-black coat that just shone in the sunshine and his markings are beautiful.

Yes, Noah was progressing. It was slow but day by day, he was moving forward and putting the past behind him.

4 comments:

Lori, I've been checking, good to see this update! I like his new name. How much does he weigh? He looks a lot smaller to me in this photo, but he looks so good! Where is he now? Last I checked nothing on Jens blog, but I've been busy too. I have so many questions, can't wait until you fill in the blanks!

Wondering what "Buddy's" (as he was known) future is now? Since nothing has been posted about him - up to date - just hoping he is in good hands and his rescue from death will result in a good life for him.

Noah is still at the trainers. Unfortunately, I probably will not be able to take him and bring him home as originally planned as he is a "fence jumper". If I were to bring him to my home, I would have to crate him all day or kennel him. I was told I'd have to crate all three of my other dogs also if I crated him. It's a little late in the game to do that with them as they've never been crated. If I was to kennel him, I don't think it would be fair that my three dogs have free reign of the house and yard and he'd be in a kennel, so I don't really see that as an option either and don't feel my home would be the "ideal" home for him then. Unfortunately, it's not working out as originally planned as I was really looking forward to bringing him home and sharing my life with him. However, Jenifer (trainer) has said she has four other people whou are interested and would be willing to take him, so it's not a problem finding him a new home. As she said, it's not hard to find a home for a dog that will be fully trained! Obviously not!

Anyway, Noah has come a long way and is progressing at a satisactory rate. He's a beautiful dog with a wonderful personality. He has touched each of our lives in a very special way, and I'm thankful that he's shared his life with me. He will bring joy to the home he goes to in the future. I do know that.

Also, I'm not willing to crate him and my three dogs because I am gone from my home for at least 11 hours a day while I'm at work. I don't feel it's fair or humane to crate them for such a long duration. Their poor bladders would bust! That's why crating is not an option. I've considred both alternatives and neither one seems feasible at this time. I do regret this deeply. In addition, financially and realistically, I can't really afford another dog. I'm doing well to afford the three I have. If you're a dog owner, I'm sure you understand. If we had no other options and nobody else was willing to take him, I would still take him, but we have four other homes that are willing to take him. So I can't be selfish and take him, knowing my home is not the ideal home for him.